“We really did spend a lot of time looking at leading-edge technology,” a GSA official said.

Years in the making, the federal government awarded 61 vendors a piece of a massive governmentwide contract that will underpin and supply federal networks for the coming decade.

The General Services Administration announced the awards for Alliant 2, a vehicle worth up to $50 billion in federal contracts. Alliant 2 is an update to Alliant, an earlier iteration of the governmentwide acquisition contract, that features companies specializing in IT services and emerging technology such as artificial intelligence, according to GSA.

About 170 companies bid on Alliant 2, and the awards are the culmination of a four-year process, Bill Zielinski, deputy assistant commissioner for IT Category Management Operations told reporters on a media call. The small business awardees have not yet been announced, though Zielinski said he expected they could come out before the end of the calendar year.

Alliant 2 has a five-year base and a five-year extension option. It’s designed to help agencies buy technology that might become more relevant, Zielinski said.

“We really did spend a lot of time looking at leading-edge technology,” he said. That might include artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, he explained. The contract also allows GSA to onboard new companies selling new and emerging technologies later.

Alliant 2’s evaluation method deviated from previous contract vehicles in that it allowed bidders to self-score their services and prices. It also evaluated bidders on capabilities, not just prices. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office sided with GSA on pre-award bid protests against the new methodology.